


Laws of Magnetic Attraction

by edibleflowers



Series: do not go gentle [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Kissing, M/M, Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-20
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-10-08 03:18:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10376682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edibleflowers/pseuds/edibleflowers
Summary: Having feelings for Noctis was not only ridiculous, it was pointless.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place during the first two chapters of "our eyes are covered by night" and shows what happened from Gladio's and Noctis's side of things. Many thanks to Arumattie for the prompt(o) and lemniskate for help with the title (ugh titles are the worst).

Gladio didn't really know what had gotten into him tonight.

Ignis had asked him (as well as Noctis) to give him some privacy to talk to Prompto, which was fine with him. Whatever was going on there, Gladio figured Ignis would know how to handle it. (He'd noticed Prompto being kinda weird around Ignis lately, but as long as it didn't affect his performance, Gladio wasn't going to let it bother him.)

So it was just him and Noctis for now, as the afternoon began to fade into dusk over the heated streets of Lestallum. If he was honest with himself, Gladio didn't mind at all. Not that he didn't like Ignis and Prompto -- he did, just fine, they all got along well enough -- but he liked it when it was just the two of them.

He'd felt a certain measure of protectiveness for Noctis nearly as long as he'd known him (which was all his life, really). Even when he thought Noct little more than a whiny kid, Gladio had always known his mission and duty: that he would one day be the prince's Shield, that he would, if necessary, put his own body between Noctis and danger. It was the Amicitia tradition since time immemorial.

These days, though, Gladio's reasons for sticking close to Noctis were as much personal as they were out of duty. Not that he'd ever admit it out loud, of course. Having feelings for Noctis was not only ridiculous, it was pointless. Noctis, Prince of Lucis -- technically, the king of the realm right now, save for the fact that there'd been no time for a coronation ceremony -- was engaged to be married to Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, the Oracle of Eos and Noct's sweetheart since childhood. Hells, that was why they were on this roadtrip in the first place: to bring Noct to Altissia, the gem in Accordo's crown, to be wed and secure the future of the line of Lucis.

(At this point, given what had happened in Insomnia not a week after they left the capital city, Gladio was pretty sure that Noct's old man had sent them away on purpose so as to keep the heir to the crown from being taken into custody or killed by Niflheim's treachery. His own father, Clarus, had hinted to the probability while they'd planned the trip. Gladio wasn't about to bring that part up unless directly confronted, though.)

So: Lestallum. Pinned down with no real plan of action at the moment, they'd returned here after Noct received Ramuh's blessing and forged the covenant with the Fulgurian. Two of the Hexatheon down, two to go: with Shiva dead and Ifrit actively against humanity, that meant Leviathan and Bahamut (wherever he was) would be the only remaining Astrals with whom Noct would be able to treat.

Gladio didn't like the thought of having to watch Noctis go through the torture of fighting any one of the Six again. Still, he'd have to grit his teeth and get through it. It wasn't as if he could protect Noct from those trials.

"Hey." Noct's voice jogged Gladio from his ruminations, and he looked up to see Noctis starting up a low flight of steps. "Let's get somethin' to eat. If we haven't seen the others yet, we probably won't for a while."

"Sure," Gladio agreed, shrugging. "Whatever sounds good to you."

"What, you're not going to drag me off to the Cup Noodle cart?" Noct's tone sounded teasing, but something in the set of his shoulders felt almost challenging. 

"I don't feel like Cup Noodle _all_ the time." Gladio heard the defensiveness in his own voice and drew a breath, attempting to slough it off. "Look, let's find something you've been wanting to try, all right? Something out of the way, maybe."

Noct was giving him an odd look now, but after a moment he just nodded and turned, jogging up the last few steps and entering a side street. Gladio shook his own head as if to shake off the tension, undoubtedly due to the heat and the feeling of not knowing where they were going next, and followed him.

* * *

By the time they'd located a cafe, dusk had fallen properly; unfortunately, the heat hadn't receded in the least. Even that wouldn't have been such a bother to Gladio, except that as the evening shift at the power plant ended, the streets began to fill with women heading home from work or stopping to enjoy the night after a long day's work. Soon, he and Noctis were bumping into people constantly, and he let out a groan when they dropped into seats at a small table.

"Drinks?" the waiter asked, handing them menus; Gladio didn't even hesitate.

"Whatever's cold and on tap," he said. 

"Water," Noctis said, narrowing his eyebrows.

"Be right back to take your order." Oblivious to Noct's tone, the waiter headed inside.

"What?" Gladio said, barely managing not to snap.

"Aren't you supposed to be on duty?"

 _The fuck_? "What is your deal tonight?" Gladio tilted his head, folding his arms and watching Noctis, who sat back in his seat and looked away. "Are you seriously telling me I'm not even allowed to have a godsdamned _drink_ once in a while?"

Noct continued to stare sullenly out across the narrow plaza. Across the way, lights flashed from the open doors of a club; music spilled out, and even the people standing in line waiting to get in were dancing along to the thumping beat. Gladio knew this particular mood of Noct's well. Whatever was bothering him, he wasn't going to talk about it until he'd sulked sufficiently.

"Fine," Gladio said. "Be that way." He picked up the menu and began to peruse it.

* * *

They ate in the same sulky silence, broken only by the waiter's forced cheer (more painful each time he stopped by their table). When, at last, he put down the check, Gladio picked up the leather folder and paid in cash, adding a decent tip to make up for the awkwardness.

Noct barely waited for him to set the folder down again before pushing up from his seat and walking off. "Fucking hells," Gladio muttered, and stood to follow him.

"Look, just leave me alone," Noct said when Gladio reached his side again.

That tore it. Gladio put a hand on Noct's shoulder, heavy enough to stop him in his tracks. Noct tried to shrug out of Gladio's grasp; Gladio dug in just a little with his fingers.

"You're gonna tell me what's wrong," Gladio said.

"Last time I checked, I was the one in charge," Noct spat back, his eyes snapping. "I don't have to tell you anything."

"Are you shitting me right now? Is that the power trip you're gonna pull? Because this isn't what I signed up for." Gladio let go of Noct's shoulder, shaking his head. "Whatever's in your head, you better talk to someone about it. I don't care if it's not me, but you better lose the attitude if you want to have any friends left by the time we get to Altissia."

Oddly enough, it was the mention of Altissia that made Noct flinch. _Huh_ , Gladio thought. This time, when Noct started forward, his pace was slower, less like he intended to try and lose Gladio. Thoughtful, Gladio followed him.

* * *

He wasn't keeping an eye out or anything, but as they came back through to the fountain square where the Leville was situated, Gladio thought he caught sight of Prompto's bright crown of fluff, Ignis's sandy-brown spike of hair beside him. _Good, so those two got out after all_. He was distracted almost at once, though, by the live music coming from a band near the hotel's entrance.

Though they'd been hearing a steady stream of music as they made their way through Lestallum, nearly all of it had been recorded (save one busker with a guitar who'd been making a nice amount of gil, if the silver shining in his open case was anything to go by). This was a band, energetic and uptempo, and Gladio felt his fingers twitching in time to the music. A loose crowd had formed around the group; as Noct moved up near the front to listen, Gladio followed.

Then paused: a tall, lanky woman in the tank top and protective lower-body garb typical of a power plant worker was smiling right at him.

 _You know what_ , Gladio thought, and before his brain could even finish the sentence, he was moving up close to her, meeting her smile with one of his own. He'd been frustrated for a damned long time now, and since the thought of being with Noctis was one he'd had to bury a long time ago -- why not?

Her hands lifted around his shoulders, he slipped his arm around her waist, and in a moment they'd picked up the beat of the song. They were far from the only ones dancing: some couples moved in wilder motion, children jumped up and down and waved their fists in glee. As far as Gladio was concerned, though, the woman -- it was too loud for him to even ask her name -- was the only one he wanted to pay attention to.

As they danced, though, Gladio couldn't help a quick scan of the crowd to make sure Noctis was still there. They did a turn, the woman spinning out from him and then back into his arms, and Gladio caught sight of Noctis now. 

If the prince had been sullen before, now his face was a mask of hurt and sadness. The moment he saw that Gladio had spotted him, Noct went red and spun on his heel, stiff-legged as he stomped toward the Leville's entrance.

 _Shit_. Gladio caught the woman's hand, gave her a parting kiss on the knuckles and a wink to thank her for the dance, and took off after Noct.

"Noc--" he started, and then, with a growl at his own carelessness, "godsdamn it, _wait_!" Noct was already halfway up the stairs; Gladio caught him at the landing, hand hooking an elbow before Noct could get too far ahead of him again. "What the _fuck_ ," he said, voice lower now, "is the problem now--"

Noct's face shifted from embarrassment and pain to anger between one heartbeat and the next. "Let _go_ of me," he growled.

"Not until you talk to me!"

As keen an observer as he tried to be, Gladio couldn't have predicted Noct's next actions. Before he could stop him, Noct spun toward him, grabbing him by the back of the head and tugging him down -- pushing up almost on the toes of his boots in the same motion -- and kissing him hard, so rough that their teeth clacked together.

Too stunned at first to reciprocate, Gladio stared, wide-eyed, at Noct. With a wet sound, Noct pulled back, swallowed hard, and then stepped away: this time, though, it was only to retrieve his keycard from a pocket and swipe it to open the door of their suite.

" _That's_ what's going on," he said, his voice low and raw, and went into the room, eyes hidden under the dark shadow of his bangs.

The door nearly closed behind him before Gladio came to his senses and stepped forward far enough to block it with a hand.

Inside, Noct had sat down on the bed by the window and was tugging his boots off. He didn't look up when Gladio closed the door behind himself. Through the open windows, they could hear the music playing in the square below, but it sounded distant, faint; the sound of his own blood rushing in his ears was much louder.

"You wanna explain that?" he asked, blinking at Noct.

"I thought it was fairly obvious," Noct muttered. "It was a kiss. You know, when two people like each other--" He cut himself off, jamming the heel of his hand against his forehead. "Fuck, I am _such_ a moron. Just. Just forget I did that, all right?"

Gladio swallowed hard. Then, slowly, he approached the bed and sat down next to Noct. 

"Please, Gladio." Noct's voice was soft now, raw. "Just leave me alone, all right?"

"What if I don't want to?"

It was stupid to say it; Gladio knew it. Somehow he felt as if it'd be worse if he didn't, though, after that kiss. Better to get this out tonight and settle things between the two of them than to continue the trip in mutual silence and frustration.

Not to mention, the wide-eyed look on Noct's face as he turned toward Gladio was priceless. Where was Prompto with his camera when he needed him?

"What's that supposed to mean?" Noct said.

Inhaling, Gladio slumped forward, rested his arms on his thighs. "It means I wish things were different," he said. "Which is pretty idiotic, 'cause, well. We both know the situation and we can't change it. You've got to marry Luna, I'm sworn to get you there one way or the other. All that logic doesn't seem to change how I feel, though."

Noct's voice was a whisper. "How do you feel?"

Gladio's throat worked a moment before he managed to respond. "Like I'd really like to kiss you again. Like... I'd like to do a lot more than that. Like I'm jealous as hell of Luna--"

A hand crept over his wrist. Gladio froze. Noct's long fingers, calloused and rough, moved almost tentatively to slip into his.

"That's what I want, too," Noct said, low. "When you were dancing with that woman, I was so angry because that was all I wanted to do, dance with you, get your arms around me and never let go."

"Noct." Gladio's voice had gone hoarse; he looked down at Noct's hand, his gaze tracking over Noct's arm and up to meet Noct's eyes. "We can't do this."

"I'm not in love with Luna. Gladio, you have to know this whole thing is a fucking political arrangement, I mean, she's my friend and I want her to be happy but she knows I'm not in love with her--" Something had broken in Noct; Gladio had never heard him babble like this. He could barely hear Noct's words over the pounding in his own chest.

"Noct," he said, and Noct's fingers squeezed his. "Noct, what are you saying."

"I'm saying that if you have any feelings at all for me, then for fuck's sake, Gladio, don't hide from me, I need you too much." Noct was pulling his hand closer, his other hand cradling Gladio's cheek to urge him to turn toward him, and Gladio gave in with a helpless sound and bent his head to meet Noct's.

This kiss was gentler than the previous one had been, if only at first. Noct mewled and tried to climb on Gladio's lap; Gladio shifted them both, dragging Noct down to the bed so that he could lay over him and kiss him senseless. This was much better, this was fine, everything was going to be OK, he couldn't stop grinning into the kiss even as Noct's hand found its way under his shirt--

And then the door flew open and now, _now_ , Prompto chose this moment to appear with a yelp of startlement. Ignis crowded in close behind him, demanding to know what he was stopping for.

With a choked laugh, Gladio lifted up, giving Noct a helpless look. They had some explaining to do.


End file.
